March 19, 2019
Bangla no. 1 in panchayats and rural development

The Panchayats and Rural Development Department has produced a stellar performance all along, ever since the Trinamool Congress took over the government in Bangla. The World Bank has made several grants to the department for developmental works at the panchayat-level, and showered wholesome praise time and again for its performance.
Major achievements of the department:
In MGNREGA Scheme, or 100 Days’ Work Scheme, Bangla is the best
State generated 31.25 crore person-days in FY 2017-18 and 21.65 crore person-days in FY 2018-19
Sub-projects under MGNREGA
- Usharmukti, for rejuvenation of rivers and comprehensive groundwater recharge in the rain-fed areas in 55 blocks across six districts in western Bangla
- Springshed Development Programme, for reviving decaying springs in the Darjeeling Hills
- Mission Million Dreams, for providing livelihood-enhancing assets to 10 lakh women, mostly belonging to self-help groups (SHG), over a period of two years
- Bangla Awas Yojana: Rs 5,867 crore released, through which 5,76,355 houses have been sanctioned.
Bangla Gramin Sadak Yojana
- Rs 927 crore spent till October 2018 ; total spend in FY 2018-19 expected to be highest ever
- In FY 2018-19, total road length of 5,750km under different stages of construction
- In FY 2018-19, Rs 135 crore spent on maintenance of rural roads
- Target for FY 2019-20: To complete balance work of first phase of Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY-I) – road length of 3,228km
Mission Nirmal Bangla
- Five more districts – Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, Purba Medinipur, South 24 Parganas and Cooch Behar – declared ODF districts
- Malda, Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Bardhaman and Howrah to be declared ODF soon
All districts expected to be ODF by March 31, 2019 - National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP): 22.28 lakh beneficiaries being provided old age pension, widow pension, disability pension, etc. through bank and post office accounts
Anandadhara (under National Rural Livelihood Mission)
- 6,74,472 all-women self-help groups (SHG) formed in rural areas
- Till October 2018, 37,353 upasanghas (gram sansad-level federation of SHGs) and 3,266 sanghas (gram panchayat-level federation of SHGs) formed
- In FY 2017-18, 4,44,327 SHGs credit-linked, enabling them to access finance to the tune of Rs 8,155.97 crore
- Completed in FY 2018-19: Till October, 2,07,175 SHGs credit-linked to the tune of Rs 4,504.5 crore
Plan for FY 2018-19: To credit-link 5,11,874 SHGs to the tune of Rs 12,374.78 crore. - West Bengal received National Award for outstanding performance in SHG Bank Linkage
- Rs 20,422 crore allocated for department for FY 2019-20
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